Warner Home Video sent out the following announcement today about straight-to-DVD animated films:
DC Comics–the world’s largest English-language publisher of comic books and the home of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman–Warner Home Video (WHV) and Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) have announced the start of production and distribution of “DC Universe,” a series of original, animated PG-13 movies. The announcement was jointly made by Paul Levitz, President, DC Comics; Ron Sanders, President, Warner Home Video and Sander Schwartz, President, Warner Bros. Animation.
The films will be made by DC Comics’ creators, including award-winning writer/artist Darwyn Cooke (The New Frontier; Catwoman) and legendary writer Marv Wolfman (The New Teen Titans), along with Bruce Timm (Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Animated Series) and Tom DeSanto (executive producer of the first two X-Men films and producer of the forthcoming Transformers feature), two acclaimed producers who have been instrumental in the creation of some of the most successful translations of the comic book experience into other media. Writer/producers Duane Capizzi (The Batman, The Batman vs. Dracula) and Stan Berkowitz (Justice League) will also be part of the creative team on the DC Universe films, with Timm serving as supervising producer on each of the titles. Working with WBA’s award-winning group of animators, the writers will utilize DC Comics’ vast history and tradition as they adapt classic comic book stories for the project.
WHV will be the exclusive worldwide home entertainment distributor for all DC Universe movies which will include a slate of 2-3 action-packed films per year. To kick off this impressive venture, WHV, WBA and DC Comics are proud to announce the first three films to be released in late 2007/early 2008:
“We are working closely with WHV and WBA to insure that the films honor the legacy of our great heroes. And we are lucky to have Marv Wolfman and Darwyn Cooke, two of the writers who created the source material for the films, involved in the project,” said DC Comics President & Publisher Paul Levitz. “The creators bring a passion for the material and a level of creative ambition that will resonate with both DC Comics’ fans who treasure the original stories and adults who love adventure, heroics and top-notch animation.”
“We are thrilled to announce this unprecedented venture with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation,” said Ron Sanders, President, Warner Home Video. “This initiative is a testament to our commitment to bringing fans new and innovative content created by the most revered names in the comic industry.”
“As producers of the finest animation in the action/adventure genre, we are very excited about bringing the iconic DC Comics characters to an ever broader audience through this series of films,” said Sander Schwartz, President, Warner Bros. Animation. “We’ve teamed with the greatest authors, artists, producers and directors working in comic book publishing and animation to bring great pictures to life for the current generation of fans and for many generations to come.”
Other DC properties with films in development include Green Lantern, Flash and Wonder Woman.
Source: Warner Home Video
